


Hidden Wound

by Fayzfics



Category: Shaperaverse, The New Albion Radio Hour Presents Astonishing Tales of the Highly Improbable (Podcast)
Genre: Blood, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, that trope where a character hides their injury like a dumbass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27819784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fayzfics/pseuds/Fayzfics
Summary: When Lloyd gets hurt, he decides to hide it from his friends. But how long can he pretend to be fine before he has to confront the truth?
Kudos: 7





	Hidden Wound

**Author's Note:**

> [A/N: I was having Feelings about baby Lloyd again. This is set in August Sky, before David arrived. Warning for blood and description of a wound!]

Lloyd re-sheathed his sword. He and the rest of the troupe were messing around in a spacepunk narrative. They had just defeated a band of robot ninja pirates, which had been good fun. Now that the adrenaline had faded, though, he became aware of a sharp pain in his shoulder. Thinking maybe he pulled something, he looked over. A maroon stain, already the size of his hand, slowly speak across his shirt. Crap. Apparently one of the ninjas got a bit closer than Lloyd thought. He pressed a hand to the wound and shot a quick glance at his friends. They were celebrating the victory and hadn’t noticed yet. Good. He grabbed his previously discarded blazer and threw it over his shoulders like a cape. It should hide the bleeding until he could get some bandages. He smiled through the pain and joined the rest. Jill made a comment about him looking a bit pale, but chalked it up to nerves. Lloyd didn’t correct her. 

As he walked into the theater’s bathroom, he felt a bit woozy. He had been the one to suggest going home. His legs were shaking and he felt like he was about to pass out. With his good arm, he grabbed the first aid kit and removed the blazer. The lining was stained, but nothing that couldn’t be removed with a bit of hydrogen peroxide. His formerly white shirt might be beyond saving, though. The blood had trickled down his entire upper arm, in some places already dried crusty and black.  
One-handed, Lloyd carefully undressed. He hissed as he removed the stained fabric; the dried blood had attached the fabric to the wound. When the sleeve was pulled off, the cut started bleeding again. The laceration itself wasn’t too long or deep, about 4 fingers long and maybe 1 or 2 fingers deep. Lloyd set about cleaning and dressing it.  
At first, Lloyd wasn’t sure why he had hid his injury. It had been almost an instinct. But even after thinking it over, he decided it was the right choice. He was the best fighter they had. He was the one who trained them all in sword fighting, he was supposed to be good at this. They expected that of him. And if Lloyd prided himself on anything, it was meeting expectations.  
He knew that no relationship came without work, without effort. First, he had paid for affection with chess. Later, it was stage managing and organizing. Maybe the most effortless relationship had been Matt... But no, even a boyfriend has to meet certain expectations. Whether it was the role of son, employee, friend or partner, Lloyd understood better than most what had to be paid for them. He never disappointed. And he wasn’t about to start now. After all, this was one relationship he didn’t want to lose. No matter what. 

A week later, Lloyd looked into the mirror. The wound had scabbed over, but it felt puffed up and sore. He could feel it pulse in time with his heartbeat. Lloyd worried at his lip. Maybe he should tell someone after all... No, because then they’ll know he lied. If they knew he lied, they’d be doubly disappointed. It’ll be fine. He’d gotten stabbed worse than this. He redressed it and put his shirt back on. 

“Hey Lloyd, are you feeling alright?” Lloyd looked up.  
“Hm? Uh, yes?” Jill looked at him with a frown.  
“You sure? You look a bit pale around the nose.” Lloyd tried to put on his most reassuring smile.  
“Ah, I just didn’t sleep very well. That’s all.”  
“Oh, maybe he’s nervous,” joked Michael. “Ya ready for the narrative trip tomorrow?” Michael moved to slap Lloyd jovially on the shoulder. For a second, time slowed down. Lloyd saw the hand move toward him, his eyes widened, he opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Micheal had already made contact. A hot pain shot through his entire arm, and he doubled down with a groan. He tried to keep it down, but the noise of pain escaped his mouth against his will.  
“Oh dang, you okay? Did I hurt you?” Lloyd didn’t respond. What was there to say? Asha got up from where she was reading and moved over to the rest.  
“What happened?”  
“I dunno, I jus’ touched his shoulder.” Asha knelt down in front of Lloyd. He couldn’t meet her eyes.  
“Are you hurt?”  
“Mhm, yeah. But I’m fine.” murmured Lloyd. Asha’s face only got more worried. She put a hand to Lloyd’s sweaty forehead.  
“Jesus Lloyd, you’re burning up! C’mon, we’re having a look at that shoulder.” Despite Lloyd’s weak protests, he was dragged to the bathroom and made to take of his shirt. Jill went along in case her healing magic was needed. She gasped when she saw the inflamed wound. The slap had agitated it and it was weeping.  
“Oh my God! Lloyd, why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Lloyd just sat at the edge of the bathtub like a scolded child.  
“I-I’m sorry, Jill-”  
“Damn right you're sorry.” The witch strutted into the bathroom and quickly prepared a few healing spells.  
“How long has this been going on?”  
“U-uhm, since the space-ninjas-”  
“Since what!” Jill shook her head, pursing her lips. “We’re not immortal, you know! You could’ve gone into shock!”  
She was angry. Lloyd had messed up. He tried to keep his lip still and looked up at the ceiling to keep himself from crying.  
“Jill, I’m sorry, I-”  
“And what if Micheal hadn’t touched it, hm? Would you just have walked around with it until your arm fell off?” Jill pushed some more magic into his arm, and Lloyd winced. Asha touched Jill on the shoulder.  
“Jill, let’s-”  
“No, I want to know! What the hell was he thinking-”  
“Jill. That’s enough.”  
“But-”  
“Jill! Stop, I think he gets it.” The witch looked up to see Lloyd silently crying. Her face, that had just been furious, softened immediately.  
“Oh... Oh, Lloyd, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have raised my voice. You just scared me, is all.” Lloyd nodded, but his tears kept coming. Jill sighed.  
“Okay. Well, I did all I could for now. The fever should go down today or tomorrow, and I’ll hit it with another bit of magic tonight. If you’re lucky, the scar won’t be too bad.” Jill stood up, hovered in the doorway for a second, and left, partly closing the door. Asha was closest with Lloyd, she’d know what to do. She should give them some privacy. 

Asha sat down next to Lloyd on the edge of the bathtub. When he was dressed again, she threw an arm around him, making sure not to touch the wound. He leaned into her, still sniffling slightly.  
“You know we’re not angry at you, right? Even Jill was just worried about you.” Lloyd sniffed. “Y-yeah, I know. Sorry I scared you all.”  
“It’s okay.” Lloyd’s tears finally died down, and Asha was quiet for a second, thinking of what to say.  
“I can still fight.” Lloyd blurted out.  
“What?” asked Asha.  
“It won’t happen again.” said Lloyd. “I got nicked, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still fight. I promise, this was a one-time thing.” Asha looked at him in shock.  
“Is that why you hid it? Because you didn’t want us to think you couldn’t fight?” Lloyd shrugged.  
“Kind of. I didn’t want you guys to be disappointed.” Asha leaned forward, trying to look the man in the eyes.  
“Lloyd, I could never be disappointed in you. Can you look at me?” Lloyd did so. He looked so young like this, like he half expected her to scold him for getting hurt in the first place.  
“You couldn’t let me down if you tried.” said Asha. “I love you, we all do. And even if you burned down the theater tomorrow, we’d still love you. Do you understand that?” Lloyd dropped his eyes, then looked up again.  
“So... you’re not mad?”  
“Mad, at you? No, never.” and she meant it. If anything, she was angry at herself. Had she said or done anything, to make Lloyd think he couldn’t tell them if he got hurt? Should she have noticed? She decided against vocalizing it, it would only make Lloyd feel guilty. Instead, she embraced him carefully.  
“We’re family. And nothing you ever do, will change that. Got it?” Lloyd returned her embrace and nodded.  
“Good. Now, let’s get you to bed, you need to sleep out your fever.”  
“You don’t have to, I’m f-”  
“Don’t you dare tell me you’re fine. Come, I'll make you some tea.” Lloyd smiled and let her help him stand up. Despite his thoughts that he didn’t have to get to bed, really, he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Asha tucked him in.


End file.
